Luningning sweet revenge—-3

The last doubts she had about her daughter’s chastity faded and vanished. If she had of been being a hold she would have wanted the money! “Thankee, God, for my daughter Luningning! And please forgive me for doubting her! Amen,” she prayed half aloud. She smiled proudly at the thought of her wonderful daughter and went inside the house to begin to prepare the Calderon’s evening meal. Every evening she would prepare the food and start the cooking process so that all that was left was for Misses Calderon to take it off the stove or out of the oven and serve it to her husband and teenage son.Claudio. Then Mama would go home and repeat the process, cooking for herself and her daughter.

Luningning turned and started down the steps, off the back porch when Mister Calderon called to her, “Luningning, I’ll expect to see you here next Wednesday right after school.” He smiled tightly and then added, “I do believe that your mother is deserving of a five hundred a week raise, if this works out.”

“But that’s my mama’s day off, Mister Calderon!” She started to protest and then shut up, as she understood what he was telling her. “You means that if I don’t come, my mama lose her job. An if I does come, she gets five hundred more every week.” A heavy weight seemed almost to crush her into the sidewalk.

“Now, don’t be so downcast, my dear; why you just might get to enjoy the experience!”

“This real wrong, Mister Calderon . This not right what you making me do.” She looked up at his smiling face and saw no respite there for her, none at all.

“Now you just run along and I‘ll see you next Wednesday.” He smiled and went back into the house.

With despair in her heart, the young girl turned away from the Calderon house and slowly walked home. “I hates being a breeding of a white man! Even half is too much! I hates old Mister Calderon! I hates everybody!” She thought a moment and she kicked a can that was in her way and blindly walked home, unaware even of her surroundings.

All the way home she made and unmade plans to grow rich and take her and Mama completely away from the town . She fantasized finding gold and having Mama so proud of her as she took her to a place where nobody got looked down upon for being or even partly so. Suddenly she looked up and saw, with a start, that she had fantasized her way home.